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Sunday, May 19, 2013

Should Your Characters Wear Condoms?-BL Morticia #sex #adult #mm

Should Your Characters Wear Condoms?

BLMorticia

Hey readers. Another post by wicked muse
BLMorticia toady and I’m asking, should your characters wear condoms? Not too
long ago friend and fellow author Gavin ML Fletcher wrote a post about this
subject responding to a comment from a reader on one of his books. Read his
article here.

In short, the person said something like
his writing men on men sex without condoms was a detriment to gay men. That’s
not it word for word, but that about sums up this person’s remark. When he
posted this on FB weeks ago, he wrote that article about author responsibility.
Although I wanted to tackle it right then, I decided to do a little
investigating first. I wanted to look at the next few romances, m/m and m/f, to
see if condoms were used in the love scenes. Now, I don’t have like statistics
to show but instead a consensus. In most of the books I’d read, the author
didn’t have its male protagonist wear a condom. Between the time of that
article I read and now, I read about 15 books. I’d say 12 of them had the
couple engaging in sex without the latex.

But it’s fiction, you say. Well yeah DUH! I
mean, Its’ supposed to be an escape from the reality so it’s not required for
the men in the stories to wear a condom. As Gavin brings up in his article, it
entertainment he’s writing so he’s not obligated to show the two men in the
story being responsible adults. Why this person felt the need to pick on Gavin
I’m not sure, considering many of the stories both het and m/m haven’t used any
condoms and seemingly not a lot of people make a stink. Did that take you out
of the story? Did you immediately put it down and say, oh no I can’t read this
because the man isn’t wear latex. Sorry, I think that’s bullshit. If you did,
okay, it’s your prerogative but as I stated its only fiction.

Another point? It really is up to the
author and how he or she writes the story. Many feel that historicals and or
paranormals are the only stories where it’s okay not to use condoms. Why? Well
of course, back in the early days, people didn’t have the access to latex they
do now. And well, if you’re having sex with an alien or a vampire, why should
you need a condom. *laughs* For me, Michael, and Rawiya, we follow the “at our
discretion” rule. In most of my m/m romances, the man’s wearing something. Why?
My characters though snarky and snide wanted to wear the latex. Still, I won’t
even flinch when I read one where the characters don’t. Does it take me out the
story? No. It really is up to the author and how they want to write the
characters. In fact, ML characters Bryant and Nathan don’t discard the latex
until they become a committed couple. It’s the way they wanted it and if they
desired it another way, I would’ve done that. Is there anything wrong with
this? Not at all. Again, I’m the author, those are my characters, my decision.

So how am I as an author being a detriment
to gay men? As Gavin stated in the article, porn directors do bareback all the
time. My fave studio Corbin Fisher does most of their scenes that way. Is
anyone ready to criticize him or Jake Cruise? Probably, but it won’t stop them
from making the movies they want to make. The same applies here. Gavin writes
homoerotic stories with protagonists who don’t wear condoms. If you don’t like
that, don’t read his work. I think when seeing some of his covers from his
other works and his blog which is very sexy btw, *grins*, you can tell what
kind of fiction he writes. Every author can write things the way they want and
in my opinion, shouldn’t be thrown under the bus because of it.

So, how about you? Do you as the reader
feel the author should make their characters wear latex? I’d love to hear your
thoughts!

BLMorticia is currently a published writer
with Naughty Nights Press and Rebel Ink Press. She entertains her readers with
hot and smexy sex, humor, and lots of swear words. She attempts to incorporate
metal music or the military in most of her works. Nothin’ sexier than
metalheads or military servicemen and women! She also writes a biweekly column
on Blak Rayne Books and blogs
on the First Thursday of the month at NNP Blog. For more info,
please visit, Erotica With Snark

4 comments:

Hey Blak and BL Morticia - Great article. I've addressed similar issues concerning reader expectations when it comes to gay fiction. My most recent post concerned non-consensual sex (Crossroads, Book 1). Several readers took issue with this and even considered it 'rape'. Oh-no! In a recent blog post for Lady Smut I was asked about the non-consensual sex in Crossroads and responded. "I was raised on Rosemary Rogers and Kathleen Woodiwiss novels, i.e., bodice-rippers of the 80s. I assure you, rape was alive & thriving in thousands of romance novels during this era. Where was the outcry then?" Now, gay fiction is alive and well and readers are taking issue with non-consensual sex between characters AND the use (or lack of) condoms?? People, this is fiction, and some issues are best left to the reader's imagination. If, as a reader, the lack of condoms in a scene bothers you, I agree with the author of this post - don't buy the author's books.

Oh, and btw, condoms (or French rubber sheaths) were available to the upper echelon of society in 1700 and 1800s. Many of the historical novels cited above were ABOUT the elite of society, Dukes, Viscounts, Marquis, and I don't ever recall the subject of the hero donning a condom before he 'raped' the heroine ever being discussed by readers or authors. Double standard?

Thanks for the comment Keta. I believe it really is up to the author but saying that the author should make the characters wear them is ridiculous. Like you said, if they don't want to read it then move on.

My response...who cares? Not to sound snide, but the whole point of writing is to share your imagination with others, and the human imagination is boundless, or at least it should be viewed that way. Why would the use of a condom even be a topic up for debate? If you're talking in reference to adding a little reality to your novel, whatever traits a character has, whatever they chose or chose not to do is strictly up to the author's discretion. In which case it may or may not be suitable.

Regardless, we're talking a fantasy world, so what does it matter if real life rules are broken, whether applicable or not. The characters are fictitious, which means, nothing has happened to any one.

I've written about condom use and the only reason I did was because of the character's personality, otherwise, I find it can be detrimental to the flow of a well written sex scene; just to add a part where the character stops to put on a condom. Really?

Rape is different. Rape, whether consensual or not, usually doesn't involve safe sex. Which is a subject I've written about as well.

If a reader is looking for responsibility, you know, an author has a responsibility to the reading public, they do but only to a certain point.

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ABOUT ME

Blak Rayne is a best selling author of gay romance. She loves to write and believes it's one of the greatest forms of self-expression. What better way to see inside the human soul? Blak resides in Canada, and yes, she is a woman, wife and mother. She’s been writing and drawing since elementary school, and she loves anything that involves the arts. As for family, her daughter is her toughest critic and greatest support!

I post a variety of content such as articles linked to my blog. I will also share images, jokes, or information; whatever inspires me. 99.99 percent of the content is intended for adult viewing. Enough said!